Ultimate DC!

Newsarama and DC's own blog The Source have announced a new project from DC that is essentially Marvel's Ultimate imprint done right. The upcoming Earth One series will start off with retelling the origins of Superman and Batman free of existing continuity. Of course, DC tried this once before with their All-Star titles, with differing results, (Superman = great, Batman = not so great) but the difference this time is that they will be done in graphic novel format. I think this is perfect.
The whole point of these reboots is to tell stories with recognizable characters, but make them accessible to new readers or casual readers by jettisoning the 70 plus years of mind bending continuity loops. The problem has always been the actual physical accessibility of doing them in the monthly floppy issue format: casual readers don't want to read it in monthly installments, nor do they want to get shafted on, say, issue 3 when Diamond decides to not ship that month's issue. With the graphic novel format, you can entice new readers with the single contained story anyone can read without knowing the results of any of the myriad of crisisi.
I think its a great idea, and if executed properly, could be a new dawn for the comic book industry. JMS and Geoff Johns are slated to write the first two, so here is hoping it will be a success. Now, lets take bets on how long it takes for Dan Didio to get greedy and start the Earth One MEGA CROSS-OVER EVENT! NOTHING BE THE SAME AGAIN!

Thor the Movie: Update!

Kat Dennings, who played Norah in something called Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, has just been added to the cast of Thor, according to Marvel.com. No word yet on who she is going to play, but if I had to make a guess based on looks alone, I would say Hela.

Do you see a resemblance?
That's just my guess.

More Thor Movie News!

Another Asgardian has been cast! Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost bridge, will be played by Idris Elba. Known for his work on "The Wire" and as Jim's nemesis Charles Miner on "The Office". A great actor and another great addition to what I believe is shaping up to be a fantastic cast.

Why I Stopped Watching Smallville in Season 3

I'll let Topless Robot provide the commentary on this ridiculousness:
Wow.

Thor Movie update!

The Warriors Three have been cast for the upcoming Kenneth Branagh Thor film. This is great for two reasons: 1) the got some great actors to play 'The Three' and 2) 'The Three' will be in the movie!
Fandral: The dashing fellow in green will be played by Stuart Townsend, perhaps best known as Dorian Gray from League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Hogun: The grim guy with the horns will be played by Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano. He has been in primarily Japanese films, but he looks the part.

Volstagg: The big fellow in pink will be played by Ray Stevenson, a.k.a. The Punisher from Punisher: War Zone! This should be quite a turn for him, playing the giant, jolly fellow. I wonder if they will use a fat suit, or put Stevenson on the diet of his life?

This news gives me hope for this movie, because casting these characters suggests a good amount of attention will be focused on Asgard. So far, from only looking at the casting, I think that Branagh really gets it. I will keep you updated as I hear more.

Cool Sketch

Stumbled across this awesome sketch of Beta Ray Bill by John Lang. Very cool! Check out the link to see more of his stuff.

Not Good Eats...?

Is it just me, or does the guy on the cover of MERC #1 look like a cyberpunk Alton Brown?

This is also the last time I will be mentioning MERC on my blog.

RoboCop!

Check out the story on Newsarama.com to get the full scoop on the January return of RoboCop. Heck yes!
Dynamite Comics brings the part man, part machine, all cop back to comics.


In other news, I have begun organizing my comic collection which had been sadly neglected recently, so look for more news on that as I go through the horrors of the longboxes. As I find interesting titles and tid-bits I had forgotten about, I'll share them here with you lucky people. I started collecting when I was about 11, so I find myself wondering what the hell I was thinking when I bought some of these gems throughout the 90's.

Thor movie gets an AllFather!

Odin's beard! None other than Sir Anthony Hopkins has been cast as Odin, father of Thor and stepfather to Loki.
Just slap a beard on him!
I can't wait to see how this movie works out. I will keep you updated!

The Fates: They Laugh at Me

In a maddening twist of fate, the Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter TPB hits today and I STILL HAVEN'T READ ISSUE #3! Moving 2000 miles the month it comes out to a state with zero comic book stores will do that to you, as I am about 3 months behind on my comics. As you may guess, it is pretty difficult to maintain a comics blog with no new comics to read. I am currently taking steps to rectify this multitude of problems. So, if you haven't read Godhunter (like myself, to some extent) go get this trade and let the awesome wash over you.

News Links

It's good to see Mike Mignola, creator of Hellboy, getting back to comics full time. Very excited for the Amazing Screw-on Head collection!

Never read Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead? You can read the first issue here for free, but be warned, once you do you'll want to go out and buy the rest. AMC is looking to make it into a series, which would be awesome.

Purchased Superman/Batman: Public Enemies DVD. It was quite good. Once again Bruce Timm and legendary voice director Andrea Romano deliver a great animated movie. It doesn't hurt that Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly reprise their roles as Batman and Superman respectively, which fans of the DCAU should be psyched about. (Which I am.) I cheaped out and bought the non-special edition DVD, and it really is bare of special features. Some very interesting cameo appearances, as well as Levarr Burton as Black Lightning, which is awesome.

Dark Princesses and December Solicits

I found this gem over at Comic Alliance, its sort of a What If?: Dark Reign met Disney Princesses. My favorite by far is the "Savage Pocahontas." That movie would have way better than the original.

BRB favorite Kieron Gillen has posted Marvel's December solicits in which he is the author of THREE titles that month! It's like my birthday! (Wow, my birthday IS in December!) December's titles will include the finale of the Ares mini-series, S.W.O.R.D. #2 and Thor # 605.
December is gonna be awesome!

Thor Movie Update

Fresh from Newsarama.com, more news on the upcoming Thor movie. Two more actors have been cast, Jaimie Alexander will be playing Sif and Colm Feore will be playing a mysterious
villain.




I think they have nailed the look.


I am not sure what villain he will be playing, but I am sure he will be a villain most foul!

Free Time and Photoshop

This is what happens:
SPACE!

FOOD!
GAUGE!
TUNE IT IN!

Beta Ray Blog's First Anniversary!

That's right! Beta Ray Blog just celebrated it's first anniversary of cosmic blogging! It was actually about a week ago, but I was a little busy moving across the country. So, as I eagerly await my copy of Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #3 to arrive, I will bide my time (and yours, lucky reader!) with a review of Power Pack #19, guest-starring Beta Ray Bill!

In this fabulously unexciting issue, The kids are worried about their mother, who is in the hospital after being injured during a fight with Kurse. Katie, a.k.a. Energizer decides to invite everyone she knows over for a surprise Thanksgiving Day party. But the other siblings of Power Pack find out about the party and are none too happy, especially Alex, a.k.a. Gee.

After a bunch of balloon related mishaps during the parade, including Katie and Franklin Richards commandeering and navigating a giant Mighty Mouse balloon towards her mother's hospital room across town, everyone eventually ends up at the party. Which turns out to be the saddest, most depressing party ever thrown since Chevy Chase's celebrity roast on Comedy Central.
Yeah, wow, let's be miserable together...thanks for inviting us Katie...uhh...
...Sooo, I guess it's too bad that Alex wont let you have that party after all, guess we'll be going...
Oh! Well. As long as it's a misery party, let's boogie down!

I was mostly disappointed that Beta Ray Bill gets put front and center on the cover, and ends up getting to be in about five panels and serves mostly as Franklin Richards's mode of transportation. But at least he got to learn the true meaning of Thanksgiving...SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE!

New Location

The International Beta Ray Blog Headquarters has officially relocated to Wyoming! I am now blogging to you live from a castle floating eight feet above the prairie. I am still getting settled in the western land of wide open spaces, so stay tuned for more updates in the near future. The move has caused me to miss out on Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #3 for the moment, but that review will be upcoming, and much much more.

Gillen to write Thor!

BRB favorite Kieron Gillen announced that he will be taking over the writing duties for Thor starting with issue #604! He will be replacing J. Michael Straczynski after his sudden departure from the title. I am very excited about this change, as I have not only been immensely enjoying Gillen's work on Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter, but also enjoying the JMS story arc. I will be very interested to see how the story plays out under Gillen's pen.

Congratulations, sir, you deserve it!

News Bits

Iron Man 2:

Concept art of War Machine from Iron Man 2! So cool!

Confirmed on Kieron Gillen's own blog, he will be writing a S.W.O.R.D. ongoing for Marvel Comics, starring both Agent Brand and Beast. I thought this was a cool concept when it was established by Joss Whedon during his awesome run on Astonishing X-men. I also want to see more interaction between Brand and Beast. Should be pretty sweet, and being "the boundary between the two great spheres of the Marvel Universe," as Gillen puts it, maybe we'll get to see some special guest stars...(*cough* *cough* Beta Ray Bill *cough*) Fingers crossed!

How do you solve problem like the Rulk?

Attention True Believers! This is a call to action. As may already know, the Marvel Universe is under siege by a horrible blight known as the Red Hulk, or 'Rulk.' This monument to stupidity has destroyed any goodwill that Greg Pak created within the Hulk titles after the fantastic Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. Incredible Hulk #600 came and went, and we are none the wiser as to who the Red abomination to comic-dom is. And now, in an effrontery to common sense and good taste, the Rulk family is being expanded with the edition of the Red She-Hulk. (wait for face twitching to subside...)

We, the offended comic buying fans, need to do something to bring this horrendous nightmare to an end. This is an open call to all who are put off by the ridiuclousness of the Rulk, and to those of you who have subsequently dropped the title, to post in the comments of this very blog entry your feelings, protests, or detailed descriptions of solutions to the 'Rulk Problem.' Have fun with it. Maybe Jeph Loeb or Joe Quesada himself will wake up and smell the gamma rays and give us back the old Green Goliath! Let your voice be heard!
If the response to this is good enough, I'll repost the best ideas later. Make 'em good!

F&$%#&!

There are no words to describe this, only rage...

Dark Avengers: Ares #1 solicit

Click the pic to see the solicit for this and the Godhunter TPB on Kieron Gillen's site.

New BONE, Hulk 600, Wyoming

Pretty excited about this Newsarama report from SDCC, Jeff Smith has new Bone stuff coming out. I've read all of the trades and my sister is a huge fan. Smith never fails to entertain, and his work on Bone is always some of his best.

In other news, I borrowed a copy of Incredible Hulk #600 to read, (and according to my humble poll, most of you will either buy a copy or borrow one) I was fairly unimpressed overall, considering the hype. Sure it had a little bit of everything -- Spider-Man, M.O.D.O.K. is always fun, She-Hulk, Ben Urich, a requisite Stan Lee nonsensical story complete with Galactus cameo-- but ultimately I was just disappointed with the whole package. Way too short on new, relevant material. On top of all that, it doesn't help that Red Hulk appearances generally make my skin itch.

Lastly, an update on the status of this blog and its blogger. Much like when Thor relocated Asgard to the middle of Oklahoma, so too the Beta Ray Blog will be relocating its headquarters to the Equality State (Wyoming). As a result of this, new content here on the BRB will be sporadic at best until sometime in September, when I will return with renewed vigor. Thanks to everyone who visits and reads this blog. Don't worry, I will live again!

Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #2

Kieron Gillen better be careful. If issue #3 of this series gets as exponentially more awesome as #2 did from the first issue, it will collapse in on itself and comic book shops around the globe will be consumed in the blinding flash of an awesomeness-singularity. But enough hyperbole.

In all seriousness, this story is pushing the character of Beta Ray Bill into new territory. It is a very welcome development to have an arguably second (or even third) string character, who for many years sat on the sidelines and was only included as a back-up to Thor or to add flair to a cosmic story, become fleshed out in such shocking and awe-inspiring ways. This story is more than just pushing the cosmic peices around the board, it is adding layers of personality to them. Stardust is a zealot. Silver Surfer seems to be resigned to the fact that he is a pawn of Galactus. And Bill himself may be losing his grip on reality.

I found the events of this issue to be shocking, but in a good way. Gillen is taking a big risk with this story, and so far it is paying off. Also, some of Bill's comments throw into question the events of the end of the Stormbreaker saga. I think these are important story elements that need to be addressed and have been igored for a long time. I know I am being extremely vague on the details, but I do not want to spoil this issue. Go read it yourself and be amazed.

I also really liked the reappearance of the I'than aliens that Bill saved last issue. They provided a very interesting twist, and I would like to see more of them in the future.

Kano's art has improved in this installment as well, the copious amounts of action depicted in a very dynamic way, and the serious parts represented with the visual weight they deserved. Not to mention a two page spread of Galactus in full beat-down mode!

All in all, another great issue. I can't wait to see how this ends. And I hope Marvel taps Gillen's talents again for further adventures of everyone's favorite horse-faced Norse god-like Scion of the Korbanites. (a.k.a. Beta Ray Bill)

Movie Updates - Thor and Green Lantern

Newsarama reports that Natalie Portman has been cast as Jane Foster in the upcoming Thor movie. This is obviously a good choice, good actors are good actors period. I wonder how they will handle this character, though. I was most surprised that they bothered to include her in the first place.

In other news, Ryan Reynolds has been cast as Hal Jordan in the Green Lantern movie set for 2011. Not sure how this will play out, though I do believe he has the acting chops to play Hal. I just hope everything else falls into place for this movie. I can easily see this movie being fumbled in the wrong hands.

Time Waaaarp!

Apparently, Marvel thinks its 1993! That's what the people want, gimmick covers! Hey, it totally worked for them in the 90's, right? Here is the preview of Marvel's replacement for their Ultimate line on Newsarama. Yep, you guessed it, a whole slew of new #1 issues with totally collectible 'foilogram' covers. First the return of the Clone Saga and now this? Have we learned nothing?

Next month: Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man #600 with bagged holo-chromium-gram die-cut gatefold cover! Buy three!

OK, I'm not really that mad about it. I would just like to see a little more innovation from the House of Ideas. We've been down this road before. It's all just a little strange. And then there are quotes like this:

“This is Marvel doing the nineties right,” explained David Gabriel, Marvel Comics Senior Vice President of Sales & Circulation. “We’re taking two of the most popular cover treatments of all time—foil and holograms—to create an all new kind of cover, as a ‘thank-you’ to fans who’ve been demanding this kind of variant!"

I don't know anybody who is demanding these types of covers. Plus, "doing the nineties right" didn't happen in the nineties, why try again? Talk about out of touch. Most comic fans want good comics, not trick covers. Wake up, guys.

Happy Independence Day!

Creepy Captain America Kid Salutes America!

Hulk #600 poll

I have been getting a lot of traffic recently due to people searching for Incredible Hulk #600 due out July 22. So, I was curious to know some of the opinions surrounding this controversial issue. Check out my poll to the right and vote. I'll post the results. I'm curious as to how people feel about this book, so I'll probably do a few poll questions until the issue comes out, so keep watching this space and vote!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Just when you thought The Clone Saga was a distant memory...Marvel says: Send in the Clones!
Todd Nauck on art. Tons of unnecessary ret-conning, dead ahead!

I feel for you, Spidey fans, I really do.

There is a god! Ares mini-series news

I recently read the new Thor one-shot The Trial of Thor, and while I found the story fairly straightforward and generally uninteresting, the issue was saved by the magnificent artwork by one Cary Nord. It is just too bad the plot and some of the characterizations are just not that good, beacuse I can't say enough how beautiful that book is. The action sequences are exceptionally brutal, as a Thor comic is wont to be.

So, imagine my delight when I see that a new Ares mini-series is in the works, with art by Cary Nord, and written by Kieron Gillen! If you have been to this blog in the past few weeks, you may have noticed that I was supremely impressed with Gillen's work on Beta Ray Bill: Godhunter #1, so I think this project is in very capable hands.

Newsarama has an interview with Gillen, as well as some preview art. This looks amazing. It will be done as a tie in to Dark Reign, and I cannot wait for this series.



In other news, co-worker of mine Eric Maruscak was at Wizard World East this year and made an awesome chalk rendering of the cover for the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #600. Courtesy of Kibbles n' Bitch.
Check out more of his work at Pepperink.com.